Hdtv

[BobB]

LCD/Plasma Which is the best bang for the buck. Which Plasma/LCD would you purchase?

[PeruvianSkies]

How much space do you have? How much $ you willing to invest? How far away will you be sitting? Do you plan on playing DVDs or even the new HD formats? Will everyone in the room be able to view the set? Are there windows in the room? These are all important factors when deciding, so until we get more information....we don't be of much help.

[BobB]

10 feet or more, yes on the DVD's. We love movies. We are thinking to upgrade from a 40in Samsung TV we have had for years to a 50in lcd or plasma. We have heard Pioneer makes one of the best Plasma's but I am leaning to the LCD's.

[PeruvianSkies]

10 feet or more, yes on the DVD's. We love movies. We are thinking to upgrade from a 40in Samsung TV we have had for years to a 50in lcd or plasma. We have heard Pioneer makes one of the best Plasma's but I am leaning to the LCD's.

LCD's are quite nice and can work well even in a room with glare to some extent..not sure it that is an issue. I'd say a 42-50" LCD would be quite nice, but it depends on your budget and such. Are you planning to mount the sucker? Do you have HD channels? Are there any other factors to consider? Anything you can provide us with is beneficial.

[Robert-The-Rambler]

10 feet or more, yes on the DVD's. We love movies. We are thinking to upgrade from a 40in Samsung TV we have had for years to a 50in lcd or plasma. We have heard Pioneer makes one of the best Plasma's but I am leaning to the LCD's.

You will need to invest in a higher end LCD with 10000:1 contrast ratio or simply go the Plasma route because even lower end ones like the Insignia models at Bestbuy can have up to 15000:1 contrast . Black levels are way too important a factor to consider if you plan on watching movies and lower end LCDs will only have contrast ratios of about 1000:1. If you can test whatever TV you might want with movies like Batman Begins to gauge "blackness" you will be much more likely to be happy with your purchase.

If you really want to go LCD you will have to spend at least $2000 or more for decent black levels for regular movie use. At that price Panasonic has 1080p plasma sets with decent 5000:1 contrast ratios. So I think if you love movies get Plasma.

Here is my recommendation for best value.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....&skuId=8365841

[Groundbeef]

I prefer Plasma. I have a Pioneer 50" (Not the Elite version but its really a sharp picture. Upstairs I have a 37" Sony, thats about 4 years old. You can tell the difference between the 2, as the newer Pioneer does blacks much "blacker".

I never liked LCD much, but I think that they have gotten much better in recent years. Too much artifacting in the earlier models, a bit grainy, and as noted in other posts, Blacks are "gray" not really deep black. That can make a difference when watching TV, and movies in particular.

[JLS]

I have had a Sony KDL 52XBR3 for a month and my chair is 18" away with12' of of 5' high windows behind me and for the first time in 25 yrs. I can watch TV with the shutters open. Best decision I ever made as I was between it and the Pioneer Elite plasma when the salesman asked about windows and when I told him he said look at the plasma screen and you can see everything over your shoulder.
If light had not been a problem then the decision would have really been tough to make as that plasma sure looked good.